


Reading the Wrong Stories

by hiya_emblem (hiya_girlie)



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: A random idea i had idk, Bonding over reading, F/M, Loneliness, ashe is too innocent and hilda doesn’t realize it, hilda has a collection of 18+ novels in her room don’t @ me, somewhat mutual pining, where my hildashe shippers at
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-18 08:29:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21941173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiya_girlie/pseuds/hiya_emblem
Summary: Hilda loans Ashe a book.
Relationships: Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert/Hilda Valentine Goneril
Comments: 4
Kudos: 26





	Reading the Wrong Stories

Hilda held out a book. “So I noticed you read a lot, Ashe.”

Ashe looked at the book, raising an eyebrow. “I hardly have time to read anymore,” he said.

“Well, if you ever find yourself with a few extra minutes here and there, I’ll give you this. It’s one of my favorite books.”

Hilda, read? For _fun?_ He picked up the book and read the title. _The Battle for Ulival._ If it was a story about knights, he’d never heard of it.

“Um, thanks?” He said, more question in his voice than gratitude. 

“Of course!” Her eyes sparkled. Her smile was so pretty. “Let me know what you think of it when you’re done!”

She wandered out of the library, leaving him alone. The professor wanted him to look over the map of their next battle location and come up with some strategies, but Hilda’s book had piqued his curiosity. He pushed the map aside and picked up the book, opening to the first page.

_Princess Ulival was the most beautiful woman to walk across the land. Fair skin, long hair, shimmering eyes, she set ablaze the heart of any man who looked upon her. One such man was the wicked Hell King Wi-ertis, who vowed that one day, he would make her his bride._

Of course it was a romance novel, Ashe thought with a sigh. There was no way Hilda would read anything else. Still, he kept reading, unsure why.

_Ulival had eyes for one man, and one man alone. A ravishing knight, whose face she had never seen but whose name made her heart flutter and her legs weak: Sir Tirndl the Warrior Knight. Oh how she longed to be with him!_

Ashe closed the book, shaking his head. At least he’d gotten through the first page before quitting. He’d return the book later.

——

When he retired to bed that night, sleep decided to evade him. With a sigh, he sat up in bed and reached for Hilda’s book. Maybe it would be boring enough to lull him back to sleep.

He turned the page and immediately closed it, his face turning a deep shade of red. Dear goddess, what was Hilda reading?!

The book had launched into a detailed account of Princess Ulival’s love life, including her more intimate relationships. Ashe was an adult now, and talk of sex didn’t make him squirm as much as it used to, but suddenly being bombarded by descriptions of lovers’ passion behind closed doors was enough to make any sensible person throw the book into the nearest furnace, scramble to the bathroom to rinse out their eyes, and hurry to the cathedral to pray that the goddess forgive them for being so shameless.

Right?

Hilda had given him the book, stating very clearly that it was one of her favorites. Did she read things this explicit on a daily basis? Were all of her favorite books about making love? He had read some romance novels before, but it was clear that his tastes were far more vanilla than Hilda’s. He was satisfied when the couple in the book confessed their love and kissed, possibly got married, but he never read anything of this caliber.

He didn’t feel like sleeping anymore, unable to get the imagery out of his mind. It wasn't too late yet, maybe Hilda was still awake. He grabbed the book and near sprinted up the stairs to the second story, getting odd looks from the night guards. Hilda’s room was the third from the stairs, and he could see light through the cracks in the door. He tentatively knocked.

Hilda opened the door, her hair loose down her shoulders. “Ashe, it’s late, what are you still doing up?”

“I came to return the book you lent me,” he said, holding it out to her.

“You finished it already?”

He averted his eyes. “Well, no, I didn’t. It just-it’s just that-erm…”

Hilda rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm, pulling him inside her room and closing the door. “Goodness, Ashe, your face is redder than Sylvain’s hair. Have you ever read a romance book before?”

“Yes, I have,” he said defensively. “But none of them were ever this suggestive!”

She took the book back, pursing her lips. “Oh dear,” she said, reading the first few pages. “I might have given you the wrong book. This one is definitely not for the faint of heart. Sorry about that.” She turned to her bookshelf and pulled a different book off. “Here, you might like this one a little more.”

Ashe accepted the book hesitantly. _Summer’s Wind._ It sounded innocent enough, but he opened it and began to read the first page. Nothing too sexual, but it still made him more than a little uncomfortable to read about how “rough and delicious” someone’s mouth was. He closed the book with a sigh.

“I just don’t think these kinds of books are really my type,” he apologized, handing the book back to her.

“Are you sure?”

He nodded firmly. “I’m sure. Thanks anyway.”

Ashe hurried back to his room to try and sleep again, but still the imagery refused to go away. He tried to dismiss it as morbid curiosity. It was new and different, that’s why it stuck out like a sore thumb in his head. He definitely did not want to read anything like it again. 

Romance was a topic that he avoided whenever he could, because every crush of his ended up with someone else. The problem was likely that he had no idea how to flirt and was too shy to admit his feelings. It made sense that he’d be so jealous of characters that ended up together if he’d never had that himself. He could never be the suave, charming knight that made women swoon. He was just Ashe, and Ashe was a quiet, hardworking archer who read silly adventure books and baked when he got sad.

Frustrated, he forced his eyes shut and painstakingly drifted off to sleep.

——

Hilda sat on her bed, looking at her bookshelf. Although any of the books on her shelf would likely be burned by Seteth if he found them, they were more tasteful than the ones she had at home. Still, they were too much for Ashe, and she felt guilty for subjecting him to them without a proper warning.

She would never admit to it, but sometimes she found herself dreaming of the days when she could have her own romance story, where a handsome man won her heart and swept her off her feet. Part of her had given up on the fantasy when every guy on her list either fell for someone else or died in the war. She still didn’t know how she felt about Claude and Ingrid.

And it wasn’t like she hadn’t tried to get men’s attention. Her laziness was mostly an act, because men liked vulnerability and meekness. But when that had backfired, she tried being more real and independent, acting like she didn’t need a relationship. That worked too well, driving them away before she even had a chance. It was just one bad thing after another.

Of course she tried asking for advice from her brother, but he was about as clueless as the professor when it came to love. So she was stuck.

When she gave Ashe the book, she wasn't trying to flirt. She just thought he would appreciate knowing that she wasn’t a total airhead, and yet it had still ended up poorly. Maybe this was a sign from the goddess that she would always be alone.

She made plans to apologize to Ashe the next day and went to sleep.

——

Hilda found Ashe in the library again, working with a map. “Hey, Ashe!”

“Oh, Hilda, hey.”

“So, look, about the other day, I wanted to apologize about the whole 18+ book thing,” she said, rubbing her neck. This was already feeling awkward. “I kinda felt bad that we’ve known each other all this time but still aren’t good friends, y’know? I thought, well, if I loaned you a book, it’d give us a good place to connect… Anyway, sorry that that failed miserably.”

He chuckled. “Well, you could have just told me you liked reading, even if what you read is slightly more, ahem, intense than what I read.”

She winced. “Yeah, heh, that would’ve been the smart thing to do.”

The library went quiet and Hilda turned to go. “I guess I’ll see you later, then.”

He reached out and touched her arm, his eyes averted and his face pink. “Wait, Hilda, I… maybe you could loan me a book that isn’t as overboard with the romance, but still has some?”

She lit up and grabbed his arm. “I’ve got just the book for you, Ashe. Come on!” 

“Wait, Hilda, the maps-“

**Author's Note:**

> Little fic, yeah, not much to say about it. Hilda and Ashe deserved supports.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
